After the Trump shooting incident, American billionaires seem to have suddenly appreciated the charm of the "knowing king" and have generously donated funds. Billionaire Andreessen and Horowitz, who have never donated to political campaigns before, are among the latest Silicon Valley figures to turn to Trump, and their shift is closely related to Trump's policy of supporting emerging technologies.
On July 17th, Finance Link News (editor Ma Lan) reported that Trump is currently enjoying great popularity. After the shooting incident, he not only gained more sympathy from voters but also won more support from the rich.
It is reported that billionaire and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz are about to announce their donations to Trump in support of his presidential campaign. These two venture capitalists have not donated to political campaigns before. Andreessen only verbally supported the Republican candidate Romney in 2012.
In 2016, Andreessen also sharply criticized the then presidential candidates of the two major parties. He said that Trump did not believe in science, and Hillary did not believe in economics. But later he said he would support the Democratic candidate Hillary.
However, this year the two billionaires apparently changed their views. According to sources, they turned to support Trump because of his technology policy. Some Silicon Valley figures hope to support leaders who promote emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies.
In addition to Trump's policy appeal, the charm of his running mate Pence was also an important reason why Andreessen and Horowitz were attracted to him. In 2020, with the support of Andreessen and others, Pence founded his own venture capital company Narya Capital, thereby establishing valuable networking resources in the venture capital circle.
Silicon Valley is queuing up to donate to him.
In a blog post published in December last year, Horowitz said, "The Andreessen & Horowitz Foundation believes that America's prosperity is closely linked to maintaining its advantage in global technology leadership, but this effort may be undermined by incorrect regulatory policies."
The companies supported by the Andreessen & Horowitz Foundation include OpenAI, Facebook, Airbnb, and others. They are well-known investment experts and technology enthusiasts in the industry.
Since last year, the foundation has been raising funds for political candidates who are willing to support the development of emerging technologies, while also explicitly opposing candidates who may stifle important technologies. The Biden administration, which has been committed to suppressing cryptocurrencies, is likely the foundation's biggest target to prevent from coming to power.
In addition to Andreessen and Horowitz, who are about to donate, Silicon Valley figures who have already announced their support for Trump include Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of Palantir, and cryptocurrency billionaires Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss. In addition, Silicon Valley celebrity Musk announced that he will donate $45 million to Trump every month.
What is even more surprising is that some former Democratic Party "gold owners" have also turned to the Trump camp. Jacob Helberg, a well-known Democratic Party donor and senior advisor to Palantir's CEO, is said to have donated $1 million to Trump.